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The government is to tackle the educational underachievement of children looked after by foster carers through its new national minimum standards for fostering services.

All local authority fostering services, independent fostering agencies and voluntary organisations will have to adhere to the 27 national standards published in a Department of Health consultation this week.

The educational needs of children and young people in foster care are addressed by standard 12. It says: "The fostering service gives a high priority to meeting the educational needs of each child or young person in foster care and ensures that she or he is encouraged to attain her or his full potential."

It adds that all fostering services must ensure that their foster carers provide an environment for the child or young person that values education and learning.

The 27 standards place an emphasis on a high level of competency and experience for fostering services' management staff. Standard one says all managers of fostering services must possess "a professional qualification relevant to working with children, which must either be NVQ level 4 or the Diploma in Social Work or equivalent".

Fostering services also have to ensure that children, young people and their families are provided with services that promote equality and diversity. Standard seven says: "Each child and her or his family have access to foster care services which recognise and address her or his needs in terms of gender, religion, ethnic origin, language, culture, disability and sexuality."

Paul Snell, director of independent voluntary fostering agency Foster Plus, welcomed the standards and said they were the first step towards high quality services for looked-after children on a national level.

He said: "We are pleased that children in foster care in local authorities and independent agencies will, probably for the first time, be awarded the same protection and standards of care that all other children have."

Snell added that the inclusion of standard 12 meant that all fostering services had to put the educational needs of children and young people first. He said: "This clarity of view will lead to a clarity of work. Not all agencies work to this standard and local authorities need to be clear and work with independent agencies that do."

The consultation document also includes a draft of the Fostering Service Regulations 2001 that, with the national standards, replace the Foster Placement (Children) Regulations 1991.

The regulations are due to come into force on 1 April 2002 and will be overseen by the National Care Standards Commission. All fostering service providers must comply with the regulations, which cover the conduct of fostering services, the approval of foster parents, placements, local authority visits and schedules.

The consultation period ends on 16 October 2001.

Fostering Services - National Minimum Standards and Fostering Services Regulations from www.doh.gov.uk/ncsc/fostering.htm